But Ferrer already plays these clay events... Its what you do if you are great on clay. .

If that is truly the case, then why haven't Rafa played them since 2005?
Answer: Because they are minor tournaments, less prestigeful than Dubai etc. AND Rafa has traditionally needed rest in this month.
Now, he needs match practice and this is the best place to ease into the season - it's clay and him and Ferrer are pretty much the only top-10 players present in those tournaments.

i searched for an official announcement on rio courts and can't find it...rumored but i don't see it, do you have it?

AFAIK it's just a rumour.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Clarky21

Maybe not but I doubt Nadal would be where he is without fan support. You need fans to buy tickets and the junk these dudes get paid to sponsor to make them amount to anything financially.

It's also kind of funny considering Nadal isn't even fan friendly. They perturb him more than anything.

He would have less money from sponsors, that's it. In a sport you don't actually need fans to succeed, like it's the case in other fields, like music for example. Even then, musicians don't owe fans a thing really. Fans buy records, go to concerts, because they enjoy it, for no other reason.

Anyway, someone who's great at a sport will always have some degree of fan support. And Nadal is fan friendly enough... he always signs autographs, what would you want from him?.

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""If doesn't exist in sport. If never comes. You have to do it" Nadal

He would have less money from sponsors, that's it. In a sport you don't actually need fans to succeed, like it's the case in other fields, like music for example. Even then, musicians don't owe fans a thing really. Fans buy records, go to concerts, because they enjoy it, for no other reason.

Anyway, someone who's great at a sport will always have some degree of fan support. And Nadal is fan friendly enough... he always signs autographs, what would you want from him?.

How about some eye contact? Maybe a hello? As much as I loathe ****, at least he chats with the fans and acknowledges their existence instead of staring at the ground totally silent.

How about some eye contact? Maybe a hello? As much as I loathe ****, at least he chats with the fans and acknowledges their existence instead of staring at the ground totally silent.

When signing autographs?. Signing them IS acknowledging the fans' existence, isn't it?. He even signed autographs after losing last year at Wimbledon. And maybe he's shyer than Novak?. We don't even know if he talks at all with fans or not... plus he probably gets asked for autographs and pics more often than Novak does.

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""If doesn't exist in sport. If never comes. You have to do it" Nadal

When signing autographs?. Signing them IS acknowledging the fans' existence, isn't it?. He even signed autographs after losing last year at Wimbledon. And maybe he's shyer than Novak?. We don't even know if he talks at all with fans or not... plus he probably gets asked for autographs and pics more often than Novak does.

I guess because he is asked more often for autographs, means he's too exhausted to at least make eye contact. Come on, Crisstti. The dude stares at the ground and never says a word to fans. Just watch him next time he's signing to see that he never utters a single word or even looks up.

Anyway, fans to Nadal are merely part of the job. They are an obligation lest he get labeled an a-hole. He could not care less about them, and if he could ditch them altogether he would do it, stat.

I guess because he is asked more often for autographs, means he's too exhausted to at least make eye contact. Come on, Crisstti. The dude stares at the ground and never says a word to fans. Just watch him next time he's signing to see that he never utters a single word or even looks up.

Anyway, fans to Nadal are merely part of the job. They are an obligation lest he get labeled an a-hole. He could not care less about them, and if he could ditch them altogether he would do it, stat.

Gee, you don't know any of that. Pure speculation.

Being asked more often to sign autographs would definitely make it a more automatic activity, yes. Plus, he might well be more shy.

Plus I have seen pics of him smiling when signing autographs.

EDIT: For that matter, how about the fact he smiled and even hugged that fan who jumped onto the court and kissed him and hugged him in (I believe) the USO (2009?)?.

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""If doesn't exist in sport. If never comes. You have to do it" Nadal

Being asked more often to sign autographs would definitely make it a more automatic activity, yes. Plus, he might well be more shy.

Plus I have seen pics of him smiling when signing autographs.

EDIT: For that matter, how about the fact he smiled and even hugged that fan who jumped onto the court and kissed him and hugged him in (I believe) the USO (2009?)?.

Body language can tell a lot about how someone feels. He does not look like he wants to interact with fans at all.

So now the excuse is he's just far too shy to make eye contact for a split second with fans. Lol. Doesn't stop him from going out and partying in Mallorca. He's not as shy as some folks want to believe.

There are few and far between consider he looks like a miserable sour puss the majority of the time when dealing with fans.

What was he supposed to do? Get in a knock down drag out brawl right there on court and in front of everyone?

Body language can tell a lot about how someone feels. He does not look like he wants to interact with fans at all.

So now the excuse is he's just far too shy to make eye contact for a split second with fans. Lol. Doesn't stop him from going out and partying in Mallorca. He's not as shy as some folks want to believe.

There are few and far between consider he looks like a miserable sour puss the majority of the time when dealing with fans.

What was he supposed to do? Get in a knock down drag out brawl right there on court and in front of everyone?

Shy people are more reticent to eye contact. He'd be drunk when partying, and with people he knows, hardly the same thing.

You really ask for too much. He always signs autographs, most pro players don't even bother. But that isn't enough, he has to smile and make eye contact, and he has to do it every time?.

He sure didn't have to hug the guy back.

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""If doesn't exist in sport. If never comes. You have to do it" Nadal

There's always an excuse. He's rude and standoffish to fans. I've been watching him long enough to see that he barely interacts with them at all.

You have no idea what you're talking about. You have never seen him in person, never been to an event he played in or did a sponsor appearance, never attended an exhibition of his and yet you run your mouth constantly and see what you want to see in your delusional mind. Rafa is beloved by fans because he is one of the most fan-friendly players on the tour. Kids are the best judges of other people because they mostly don't have any agendas and they just sense whether that other person is kind and good and that's why Rafa is always extremely beloved at all the Kid's Day events he does. But in your twisted world all the people who have had the good fortune to meet Rafa and have nothing but wonderful things to say about him are all wrong and your sad perspective is right. As marc45 said, you're "a mental health professional's dream"